Ian Bush’s mom drops suit against RCMP over in-custody death of her son

Linda Bush, the mother of a 22-year-old millworker shot in the back of the head by an RCMP officer, said she is abandoning her lawsuit against the force and her nearly five-year-old fight for justice.

At a joint media conference with the force Wednesday in Vancouver, she said the decision was motivated by changes the force had made to its handling of in-custody deaths and the reforms under consideration.

Bush said she did not want to relive the “anger and despair” a civil case would have rekindled and that the cost of continuing the legal battle given B.C.’s user-pay regime was too heavy. “[The court costs] put it out of reach for ordinary people,” she said. Bush estimated well over $130,000 raised through donations across the country had already been spent.

“I know many people, including some who are very close to me, will be very disappointed with the decision,” she said. “I do, however need to make the decision after considering what makes the most sense . . . . Nothing we can do will give Ian’s life back to him, so the only thing we truly want is not within our reach.”